The No. 11/12 University of Cincinnati men’s basketball team travels to Charleston, W.Va. on Saturday to take on Marshall at the Charleston Civic Center. The contest tips off at 2 p.m., and will be televised by CBS Sports Network. It is also available on 700 WLW-AM.

The Bearcats are 9-0 to start a season for the second time in three years and entered the week as one of only 14 undefeated teams in the nation.

UC is coming off a 92-60 home win over Maryland Eastern Shore on Dec. 8. Sean Kilpatrick led the Bearcats with 23 points on 10-of-15 shooting while fellow guard Cashmere Wright added 20 points while tying a career-high with six three-pointers.

Marshall (6-4) is coming off a 69-63 home win over Coppin State on Dec. 8. Guard D.D. Scarver scored a game-high 20 points with four three-pointers while forward Dennis Tinnon posted a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. The Thundering Herd closed the game on a 20-8 run to secure the win.

Cincinnati leads the series 19-12 all-time. UC leads 15-3 in Cincinnati while Marshall leads 9-4 in Huntington. This is the first game played in Charleston. The Thundering Herd is considered the home team Saturday. It is not a neutral site contest. Marshall won last season’s meeting 73-69 in overtime at Fifth Third Arena.

Cincinnati Storylines-This season’s squad features one of the best backcourts in the BIG EAST Conference with junior guard Sean Kilpatrick and senior guards Cashmere Wright and JaQuon Parker. The trio accounts for 83.3 percent of UC’s three-pointers (60 of 72); 54.6 percent of its scoring (414 of 758 points); 50.0 percent of its steals (48 of 96) and 47.7 percent of its assists (72 of 151). . -The Bearcats are 9-0 to start the year for the second time in three seasons. The 2010-11 squad started the year 15-0 en route to a 26-11 mark and NCAA tournament berth, head coach Mick Cronin’s first at UC. -UC is 9-0 for the 11th time in school history. Only nine previous Bearcats teams began the year 10-0. -Sean Kilpatrick was recognized by the BIG EAST for the third time this season on Monday when he was named to the league’s weekly honor roll after averaging 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in a pair of Bearcats’ victories last week.-Kilpatrick earned BIG EAST Player of the Week selection on Nov. 26 after earning weekly honor roll distinction on Nov. 19.-Cincinnati ranked among the nation’s top 20 teams in six categories entering the week, including scoring offense (fourth at 84.2 ppg); scoring margin (fifth at +25.0); field goal percentage defense (fifth at .341); blocks (seventh at 7.6); steals (10th at 10.7); total points (15th with 758 this season). -Individually, Cheikh Mbodj ranked 20th in blocks, averaging 2.67; Cashmere Wright 23rd in three-point shooting at 46.3 percent and Sean Kilpatrick 25th in scoring at 20.0 points per game. -The Bearcats entered play Friday as one of 14 Division I teams still undefeated on the season. Syracuse was the only other team from the BIG EAST Conference.

Scouting Marshall-The Herd enters Saturday’s game having won four of its last five games after a 69-63 win over Coppin State on Dec. 8. -Guard DeAndre Kane leads Marshall averaging 15.0 points. He entered the week third in the nation, averaging 8.5 assists. -Guard D.D. Scarver averages 14.8 points and has a team-best 26 three-pointers this season.-Forward Dennis Tinnon (9.7 rpg) and center Nigel Spikes (9.2 rpg) lead the Herd on the boards. -Marshall posted a 21-14 overall record last season, including a 9-7 mark in Conference USA (tied for fifth). The Herd made the school’s first appearance in the postseason NIT since 1988. -Most preseason publications forecast Marshall to finish second or third in C-USA this season.